Indian Army in NW Europe 1944-45

Discussion in 'British Indian Army' started by Wilhar, Aug 15, 2021.

  1. Wilhar

    Wilhar Active Member

    Hello everyone,
    I've got a bit of a mystery to share, which I hoped would interest the rest of the group. Some time ago I requested copies of some documentation from the Indian archive regarding the manufacture of WW2 campaign stars and medals. At great length and after considerable pestering on my part, the archive produced scanned copies of several letters exchanged between the Government of India and the Indian mint, dated circa 1946. One of these included a breakdown of the expected numbers needed for each of the campaign stars; this included an anticipated need for 2,000 France and Germany Stars.

    Eligibility for the France and Germany Star began on D-Day and ended on VE Day. This therefore excludes the obvious answer that these men were members of Force K6, who deployed to France in 1940 and promptly left with the rest of the BEF.

    I am aware of a collector with a fully named WW2 Indian Army medal group including a France and Germany Star, named to a member of the IEME. So, at least one of the 2,000 was an electrical or mechanical engineer. Does anyone have any ideas as to what Indian personnel were doing in western Europe in 1944-45, and what units/corps they were attached to?

    Wilhar
     
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  2. Ewen Scott

    Ewen Scott Well-Known Member

    Have you considered the eligibility of RAF and WAAF personnel? See this article about half way down the page.
    The Royal Indian Air Force, 1932 – 1947 | RAF Museum

    “In addition to the 24, some 200 Indians resident in Britain volunteered......”

    So we clearly have individuals of Indian descent but resident here serving in British units potentially scattered throughout the RAF/RN/Army who might have qualified for the France and Germany Star.

    Coincidentally the other night I watched the film “A Call to Spy” on Netflix which features Noor’s story.
    A Call to Spy - Wikipedia
    Noor Inayat Khan - Wikipedia
     
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  3. JimHerriot

    JimHerriot Ready for Anything

    Not looked into the composition of involved invasion forces or follow up reinforcements yet but Operation Dragoon maybe?

    Kind regards, always,

    Jim.
     
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  4. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

  5. idler

    idler GeneralList

    Can the letter be interpreted in the context of supplying stars for post-war British attachments to the Indian Army?
     
  6. Maureene

    Maureene Well-Known Member

    For First World War medals, it appears that if men in the British Army were serving in India at the time medals were actually issued, then the medals were issued by the Government of India.

    Perhaps it was the same situation in 1946.

    Maureen
     
  7. Wilhar

    Wilhar Active Member

    Thanks all for thoughts, and apologies for the late reply.

    Good thought re: medals issued to Brits, but India does not seem to have got around to issuing WW2 medals until well after independence. As far as I know medals issued to British personnel -- British army as well as Indian army personnel of British origin -- were issued by the British government.

    Indian airmen serving with RAF squadrons could very well have had medals issued by the government of India and these men likely account for a few of the estimated 2,000 F&G Stars ordered from Indian mints.

    The Operation Dragoon suggestion is interesting. The IEME medal group I mentioned in my first post consists of 39-45 Star, Africa Star, Italy Star, F&G Star, Defence Medal and War Medal, so this would track with a man who made his way up through Italy and moved into southern France. I'll be digging further on this and will let the group know what, if anything, I turn up.

    Thanks
    Wilhar
     

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